Katherine Nielsen

This article examines the philosophy that Osman bin Bakar has published in English.Beginning with his biography and theoretical groundings, and especially the influences that Greek, Chinese, Indian, and Islamic philosophers have had on his thought, the article then turns to Bakar’s philosophy of science, ‘ilm al-tawhid, how knowledge about the world should be classified, and especially evolutionary theory within Islamic philosophy. These developments in philosophical grounding provide Bakar with a platform to suggest how science can be used as a vehicle for inter-civilizational dialogue.

Osman bin Bakar is one of the foremost contemporary Muslim philosophers of science. Publishing in English and Malay, Bakar draws on all major pre-modern civilizations to develop what he calls ‘ilm al-tawhid, or the Science of Divine Unity, which he considers to be universal in both nature and scope. Bakar contends that developing ‘ilm al-tawhid is one of the steps that can help in inter-civilizational dialogue, offering a common starting point. This article will examine Bakar’s life and works, his theoretical background, his philosophy of science, and how they relate to his other great interest, inter-civilizational dialogue between modern cultural blocs. In this article I will explore his English works only as, being written in English, they are designed for a Western audience, and speak to that audience about his view of ‘ilm al-tawhid and the role it can play in inter-civilizational dialogue, a dialogue in which he wishes to include the West.

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